Fired Furr H.S. principal Bertie Simmons fighting...

1of 42FILE - Dr. Bertie Simmons, the then-82-year-old principal of Furr High School, speaks during a meeting in 2016. Following her termination in June 2018, Simmons is now fighting back through the Texas Education Agency appeal process.Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff / Houston Chronicle

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Former Furr High School principal Bertie Simmons, who was fired from Houston ISD in June following multiple allegations of misconduct, is fighting her termination through a Texas Education Agency appeal process.

Records obtained from the TEA show Simmons, a long-revered leader within HISD, has requested a ruling from an agency-appointed hearing examiner, who will review evidence against Simmons and issue a recommendation regarding her job status.

HISD trustees voted 5-1 to fire Simmons after an outside counsel's investigation found Furr High School administrators broke state law by changing student grades and manipulating education records. Simmons, who is 84 and white, has denied the allegations and is suing HISD for age and racial discrimination. The district disputes Simmons' claims.

The TEA hearing examiner, Houston-based lawyer Peter Thompson, is expected to see evidence against Simmons and hear arguments from lawyers on both sides at a mid-October proceeding. Thompson must issue findings of fact, legal conclusions and recommendations about any relief owed to Simmons by early November.

Thompson's findings and recommendations are non-binding, meaning the HISD Board of Trustees could uphold its decision to terminate Simmons' employment regardless of Thompson's rulings.

Simmons and HISD have been locked in an often-contentious battle over her treatment since September 2017, when the once-retired educator was placed on administrative leave amid allegations that she threatened students with a bat and disregarded the district's student dress code. Simmons was admonished for her actions in that case, but a subsequent, months-long investigation ended with HISD administrators recommending Simmons' termination.

The Houston Chronicle submitted a public records request for the investigative report, but HISD officials said the report was shielded from public disclosure by state law, largely because it constituted attorney-client communications. The Texas Attorney General's Office ruled in mid-August that HISD had legal grounds to deny the Chronicle's public records request.

Simmons' lawyer, Scott Newar, said HISD officials have not provided him with a copy or excerpts from the investigative findings.

"They won't disclose to the public the evidence that they say they have," Newar said. "To me, it's essentially an effort by the district to smear these people without really giving them any due process."

HISD trustees voted on Aug. 28 to produce 42 pages of the investigative report to lawyers involved in Simmons' case before the TEA hearing examiner, as well as parties involved an ongoing retaliation lawsuit tied to the Furr High School case.

Simmons came out of retirement in 2000 to lead Furr High School, an east side campus rife with gang activity and academic issues at the time. She long has been credited with turning around the school and restoring order.

Jacob Carpenter joined the Houston Chronicle in June 2017 to cover K-12 education. Prior to arriving in Texas, he spent a year as an investigative reporting fellow for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He reported for the Naples (Fla.) Daily News from 2011 to 2016, covering criminal courts and long-term investigative projects. A native of suburban Detroit, he graduated from Michigan State University in 2010.